PhonepayPlus sees 62% decrease in complaints for mobile services

Regulator PhonepayPlus has announced a 62% decrease in complaints for mobile phone-paid services.

The move coincided with an update published by the EU this week, detailing the success of its 2008 Europe-wide clampdown on misleading websites offering mobile phone services, such as ringtones and wallpapers.

The EU’s update came after it carried out a ‘sweep’, announced in July 2008, where it selected a number of problem websites to undergo further investigation.

Of the 43 UK websites checked, 39 were found to need further investigation, and five were potential ‘cross-border’ cases.

PhonepayPlus examined websites highlighted in the ‘sweep’ and found that many of the ‘suspect’ websites were for services that were no longer in operation.

The remaining sites were dealt with through PhonepayPlus’ enforcement powers, including informal action with providers and formal PhonepayPlus adjudications.

The regulator introduced new rules for mobile phone-paid services in January 2009. The measures aimed to protect the public from a range of practices in the mobile premium content market that were causing complaints.